Entertainment: Starting as a Succubus, Taking Hollywood by Storm

Chapter 24: The Art of Provocation

"I bet I can make him get on all fours and bark like a dog."

William glanced at the man Martin was pointing to.

He recognized him—Grant Brook, the musician his mother often mentioned. But he never liked him. There was something about Brook's frequent visits to his mother that felt disingenuous, almost opportunistic.

To be fair, young William's sixth sense wasn't entirely off.

But personal feelings aside, William knew that, as a musician, Grant Brook was indeed talented, though his arrogance—especially toward those he deemed beneath him—was hard to overlook.

Make Grant Brook crawl and bark like a dog? Surely Martin was joking.

Yet when he looked back at Martin, he saw the boy's expression was serious, not a trace of humor on his face.

"Are you sure?" William couldn't help but ask. "Do you really mean to make him crawl and bark? Grant Brook? This isn't some trick with words, is it?"

Martin smiled. "Of course not."

"Fine, then. I'm in!" William gritted his teeth and agreed.

"Yes! Bet with him, William!" Harry exclaimed excitedly from the side.

Martin gave Harry a look of pity. How had this second prince not realized that the consequences of this wager would affect him too, while the reward had nothing to do with him?

"Alright, let's shake on it. No backing out," Martin said.

Clap! Clap!

Martin shook hands with William and then with Harry, who still hadn't caught on that he was merely a bystander in the bet, cheering even louder than William.

After straightening his clothes, Martin said, "I'm going over."

The two princes watched him intently as he approached Grant Brook.

On his way, Martin passed by Nancy, who had just wrapped up a conversation with some film industry people. He leaned in and asked, "Nancy, you're sure that's Grant Brook?"

"That's him. I double-checked."

"Perfect."

Martin continued walking.

"Wait, what are you planning to do?" Nancy asked, realizing something was off only after he'd taken a few steps. She worried he might be planning to physically confront Brook.

But Martin seemed to sense her concerns and, without turning, raised a hand, waving it in reassurance. "Don't worry, Aunt Nancy."

Martin was brimming with confidence.

He had every reason to be. As time passed, his latent magical power had grown significantly, allowing him to perform subtle charm spells.

He could have easily used magic to make Grant Brook bark like a dog. But that would be too straightforward and, frankly, no fun at all.

"Mr. Grant Brook, hello."

When Martin approached, Grant Brook was in the middle of a casual chat with a few industry folks.

"I think Prince Charles's final choice to be with Camilla wasn't entirely his fault. Diana, surely, had her own issues. Didn't she also have affairs with that equestrian who doubled as a driver? And, oh, that car salesman, Gilby?"

"No, no, Lady Diana sought comfort only when her marriage was beyond repair. It's hardly an affair when you can't even divorce, as the Queen wouldn't allow it."

"Well, if they weren't divorced, then it's an affair. And Charles's marriage to Diana was arranged in the first place. Camilla was his true love."

"Hold on, Grant. Weren't you a friend of Lady Diana's? Why speak against her now?"

"I'm not against anyone. I'm just stating facts."

"Hah! Some people just have no sense of loyalty."

"Oh? Since when is loyalty to the Crown considered disloyalty?"

"Don't forget how you got your fame. Ten years ago, when you were still unknown, it was Lady Diana who saw your talent and gave you a chance!"

"You just said it—she appreciated my talent. Without that, she wouldn't have helped me. So ultimately, it's still about my abilities."

"You—"

"Alright, alright, let's not fight," someone tried to intervene as the argument intensified.

It was then that Martin's voice rang out, "Mr. Grant Brook, hello."

"Who's that? Who's calling me?" Grant turned and saw a boy looking up at him.

"Whose child are you, and what do you want?" Grant asked irritably, his previous irritation showing through.

"I'm Martin, Martin Myers. Lady Diana introduced me. She hoped you'd listen to some of my music. If you find it tolerable, perhaps you could help me produce an EP?"

Grant Brook, though irritated, was about to find a polite way to decline. But then, out of nowhere, a rush of anger welled up within him, and he blurted out, "Ha! So Diana's really lost her mind, has she? Wants me to make an album for a little kid like you? Do you even know what real music is? Or is it nursery rhymes? Ha!"

Martin stood there calmly in stark contrast to Brook's rudeness, which only made the onlookers sympathize more with Martin and find Brook's attitude distasteful.

"Mr. Brook, don't you think you're being a bit hasty?" Martin asked.

"Hasty? What, do you fancy yourself some musical genius, Mozart or Beethoven?"

Grant Brook's sarcasm was out of control. He wanted to stop, but a part of him kept screaming, Shut up! Stop! You can't say this here!

But it was no use.

Another voice within urged him on: Yes! Let it all out. Speak your mind without holding back!

It was as if his brain had split into "Rational" and "Reckless" halves, and his mouth was now completely under Reckless's control.

This, of course, was Martin's doing. All he had done was gently amplify Brook's buried desires, stoking his arrogance.

Urged by his impulsive thoughts, Brook continued, "I don't know what connection you have with Diana, but I'm not risking my reputation to produce music for a kid like you."

"Diana isn't even a princess anymore. She has no right to command me."

"So that's why you ducked out on us at the last moment?" Martin asked coolly.

"Yeah. So what if it is?"

"You could have declined," a cold, angry female voice interjected. "I never meant to order you. It was a request, and if you weren't willing, you could have just said so."

Brook turned and saw that Lady Diana had approached unnoticed, her expression icy.

Panic flashed in Brook's eyes, but the Reckless part of his mind drove him on. "Diana, you think I didn't want to refuse? You're no longer a princess, yet the Queen still lets you keep your 'Lady' title. I'm only playing nice to stay on the Queen's good side!"

Damn it, what am I saying? Shut up already! Brook was screaming internally.

Not far away, William had been watching the scene closely, fists clenched.

This bastard dared to insult his mother. He had known it—he had sensed that Brook was no good from the beginning.

Rage flickered in his eyes.

Beside him, Harry was already muttering furiously, "William, I want to hit him."

"Not now!" William restrained his brother once again.

[•———•———•———•]

𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙢𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙢𝙮 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩 𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙟𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙮. 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙗𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚!

𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸𝘀 𝘁𝗼:

• 𝙅𝙘𝟭𝟮𝟬𝟮

• 𝘼𝙝𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙟𝙖𝙝

• 𝗝𝗮𝗰𝗼𝗯 𝗠𝗼𝗲𝗲

𝗔𝘀 𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘂𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸:

• 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀: 𝙂𝙚𝙩 𝟭𝟴𝟱+ 𝙖𝙙𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙖𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙚𝙡𝙨𝙚.

• 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁-𝗢𝘂𝘁: 𝙍𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙖 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩!

𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝘂𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗺𝘆 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝘀 𝗺𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆. 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗲𝘁, 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝘀!

👉 𝙅𝙤𝙞𝙣 𝙣𝙤𝙬: 𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙤𝙣.𝙘𝙤𝙢/𝙂𝙤𝙙𝙊𝙛𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧

💬 𝘼𝙡𝙨𝙤 𝘼𝙫𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚: 𝙈𝙮 𝘼𝙙𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙩! 𝙐𝙣𝙡𝙤𝙘𝙠 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙡𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙤𝙡 𝙛𝙤𝙧 $30—𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖 10% 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩! 𝙅𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙙𝙚: 𝗚𝗢𝗗𝗢𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗘𝗥.

𝙒𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙂𝙋𝙏 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙗𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙢𝙮 𝘼𝙙𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙩, 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙛𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝘾𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙨 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙀𝙣𝙜𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙝𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣-𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙮, 𝙘𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙣𝙪𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙚𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙡. 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙦𝙪𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙤𝙡 𝙙𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙧𝙞𝙫𝙖𝙡 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙛𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙝𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙨, 𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙣𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚!

👉𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗽: 𝙋𝙖𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙤𝙣.𝙘𝙤𝙢/𝙂𝙤𝙙𝙊𝙛𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧/𝙎𝙝𝙤𝙥